Airship.



D. McK. MAGLEOD.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION nun APR. 6,.1910. 1,023,667. Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

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5] m ucufoz a /yggmmwfz @aw D. McK. MAULEOD.

AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED APR.6,1910.

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aflocnua Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

[70/20/01 WAZy/I/aclimd a ride a device of the class referred to w ich UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DONALD HOKAY W1), 0]

LAKE CHARLES. LOUISIANA, ASSIGNOB 0F ONE-HALF '10 VIUIEOBIA. GILZEI', t)?- J'AOKBQNYIIJ'E, FLORIDA.

1,023,667. n m w Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

Application am s n 0, 191a, Serial in. man. To all whomitflmycomem: view in elevation of the device for indicat- Be it known that '1, Donna McKay MAOLDOD, a citizen ot the Dominion of Canada, at Lake Charles, in the parish of Calcusieu and State of Louisiana,

ave invented new and useful Improvements in Airships, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to air ships of that class which are generally known as dirigibio; and. it has particular reference to that class of 1e air' ships which are equip with gas tanks, be or other receptac es for the purpose of aiding the buoyancy of the vessel and which arealso equip with motor-driven means to assist e vessel in rising, to maintain it at the desired elevation and to efl'ect propulsion and steerage.

The invention has for its object to reshall possess u orior advantages in point of simplicity o construction, eiiicienoy of operation and availability for general use. With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter full described and particularly pointed out in t e claims.

In the accompany/in drawings has been illustrated a simple an preferred form of the invention it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that chan modifications within e vention may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawinga-eFigure 1 is a side elevation of an air ship constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a. top plan view of the car. Fig. 3 is a to plan view on a larger scale of one end of 0 car. Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of one of the motor-driven tiltable elevating propellers. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 6 IS a transverse sectional view of the air ship, showing an elevating propeller driven by a stationary motor. F 7 is a plan view showing one of the a ustable win alterations and scope of the in- .the side edges-of which sharp edges 3, 3, as will be best seen or p anes detached. Fig. 9 is a detail si e ing: the inclination of the vesse l. orrespondin llparts in the several figures are denoted by e characters of reference. Referring to the drawings, A. designates the main gas bag, tank or other receptacle, and B is the car which partly supported thereby.

The gas bag or receptacle A is throughout the greater portion of its length approximately semi-circular in cross section, as will seen by reference to Fig. 6; that is to say, it is formed with a flat bottom or underside I and an nrcuate top portion 2, join the side'edges of the bottom member 1. The ends of the bag or receptacle are tapered to resent in Fig. 1, to present the least possible resistance to the atmosphere when t e vessel is in flight. The receptacle A, which may be constructed of any'suitable material, 'is reinforced by a nettin iormed of longitudinal strips 4 and vertica cross strips 5, which are preferably made of aluminum 'or an alley or composition containin aluminumin order that the greatest possi le tensile strength may be combined with lightness. This netting or covering not only reinforces the receptacle against the expansive ressure of the gas contained therein, but it also forms a medium for the sus ension of the car B which is connected with said netting by means of connect members 6. The car B is-comoeed of win tanks or gas compartments 7, which are suitably connected by means including a bottom member 8 and cross braces 9 to form an intermediate passenger compertinent 10.

For the purpose of assisting the vessel in rising and for maintaining it at the desired elevation in the air, propellers P are provided, each of said propellers including a blade 11 which is wound spirally about a shaft 12, said shaft being driven by a motor M whichis mounted upon a sector 13 having a toothed edge forming motor-supporting sector being pivotslly and concentrically supported upon a bracket 15, as will be best seen in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The bracket 15 also supports for m tation a shaft 16 having a pinion 17 meshrack 14, saidis connected with and 'l h ends of thecarare beveled to form terminal F502;, and adguoentzgo eschedexgd 1s a screw ro er com 8 ml which is driv an by a motor 2 supported upon a uplate 28, the latter beuiiamounted for osci ation upon a vertical ft24. Thebaseplate28isequi with suitable bearings for the 5511) erca shaft. A curved track 18 provided or each of the bash plates 23, said track being concentric with the pivot 24. The base lates 23 are extended to form brackets 26: and with each of said brackets is connected two flexible members, such as re or cables 27 which are guided over suitably arranged pulleys 28 to 29 which are suitably mounted about midway betwwn the ends of the car, the ends of the flexible members 27 being connected with and wound upon the drums 29 m such a manner that by the rotation of either drum motion will be transmid 'tted him: the pivoted motor an ro er plates which may'bg chi lies in uniison in opposite directions, as will be readily understood, for the purpose of guidmg or directing the Hi htor of they if uired. e drums are equip with and wheels 30 to enable them ,to be conveniently t, th Hingedly su po scan to e tively sharp ed 8 at e front and rear ends of the ag or receptaole are wings or planes and uprights 81 are so ported by the framework which includes a aluminum or metallic netting adjacent to said front and rear edges. Halyards 32 for the purpose of raising the wings or planes are connected with said wings or planes adjacent to their outer edges and guided over pulleys 33 at the upper ends of the uprights 8L Sheets 84 for the purpose of lowering the wings or planes are ikewise attached adjacent to the outer edges of the latter. Said halyards 32 and sheets 34 extend to suitable arranged cleats 35 where they may be secured for the p of maintaining the Wings or planes in adjusted position.

Inclined brace rods 36 for the purpose of reinforcin the construction have been shown in ig. l, and it will be readily uninclination may be read upon noaaeev derstood that additional braces and reinforcements may be used wherever desired. It is also desired to be understood that a more orlcss rigid framework may be installed for the purpose of connecting the car with the gas receptacle and thesams. Itisalsodesiredtobeunderstood that the gas rece tacle may consist of one or of any des' number of comartments, the latter construction being preerred as a matter of securi in the event of a leak occurring at any time or at any place.

For the p to determine e exact angle of inclination when the vessel is tilted, as will sometimes be the case in ialscend' l M propose to insta asuiysuppo protractor 87 about midway between the ends of the vessel in connection with a ivotally supported weighted index or pen ulum 38 ponstituting a pointer wherehfilthe angle of e protractor. It may sometimes be deemed unnecessary to ogerate the propellers P by ivotally su or d motors, as shown in 4 and nFi .fiofthedrawinfiIhaveshown the pro or P as bolngac ated by a stationary motor M, the van shaft, here designoted 12', being supported in an approx1- mately vertical oaition. When this construction is race d to it is preferred to install an auxiliary bearing 40 for the upper end of the shaft 12'.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the draw hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily imderstood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains. The buoyancy of the gas tanks or receptahles will be of great assistance in cans m the vessel to ascend, but this buoyancy is no depended upon altogether, the propellers P being largely depended upon for this purpose. These propellers are normall so ported with eir shafts in a vertica position. Being independently driven, the rogeller-carryln shafts ma be rota at ifi'erent spee if it shoul be or one may be stopped altogether in the event of one end of e car being more heavily loaded than the other end, and equilibrium may thus be established, In rising and in descendlgp the propeller-carrying shafts mayllzi'ltedsog sto 'dethevcssef' linaln mcin pane. ort e urposeo ro lln the vessel in either direction, tlEe ib re an aft propellers will be utilized, and the said fore and aft propellers are capable of adjustment in the manner hereinbefore described for the purpose of deflecting the course laterally in either direction.

The improved air ship, as will be seen from the foregoing descri on, is sim la in construction, and it will be found e ective or descending, I'

supporting of enabling the operator and useful for. the purpose of transporting frei ht as well as passengers.

aving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In an air ship, a gas reoe tacle, a car connected with and suspende from said gas receptacle, said car comprising a air of longitudinally disposed tanks, :1. ottom member connecting the lower edges of said tanks and cross bars'connecting the upper edges of said tanks, a plurality of segments supported for oscillation intermediate the ends of the car, propellers and motors for driving the same supported by said Segments, and means for adjusting the segments about their respective axes.

2. In an air ship, a car comprising longitudinally disposed tanks suitabl spaced and connected to form an interme iate compartment, motors supported for oscillation in an a proximately vertical plane between the on s and the middle portion of said com artment, propeller carrying driven sha ts associated with said motors, base plates supported adjacent to the ends of the car for oscillation in an approximately horizontal lane, motors supported upon said base plates, propeller carrying shafts associated with said motors, means for connecting and actuatin the base plates supported at the ends 0 the car to so adjust said base plates as to maintain the propeller carrying shafts of the motors associated therewith in an approximately parallel relation, and means for efiecting independent adjustment of the motors intermediate the ends of the car.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature in presence 0 two witnesses.

J. P. Baimnuoms, A. N. Llmoom. 

